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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is largely based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it's inevitably a spoiler.
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previous day
4-202-01-28 05:12
Calixto's House of Curiosities, Windhelm, Eastmarch, Skyrim
We have a bath together at the inn, after which we eat breakfast. I wish Sofie good luck and leave her some money. Me and my followers exit by the northern gate.
We run towards Amol City and Winterhold – maybe somewhat slower than usually. I'm generally fine, but I'm really grateful that Lydia refrains from mocking me.
Crossing the rather boring snowy hills, we run right into a group of bandits. They're not really dangerous, but I accidentally shoot one arrow into Lydia. Nothing serious, but of course I mustn't be so sloppy, ever.
It's still too early for the traders in Amol City, so we just proceed to Winterhold.
I get Onmund's amulet from Enthir, but Onmund still refuses to tell me what's so special about it, and I can't detect what (if any) magic effect it has, so I'm not telling him I've got it.
I wonder if it's right for me to keep it from him if we're intimate. Ertzebet with whom I have a longer chat in the library confirms my doubt – I ought to give it to him and accept it if he wants to keep his secret from me. After all, there may be a story connected to the amulet which is too embarrassing for him to share.
It's clear to me now. I'll give it to him the next time.
Now I tell Ertzebet about Alduin. She clearly needs all her willpower not to jump up and dance and shout from joy. I ask him to tell everyone else when I'm safely away from Winterhold. I really don't want to be carried on hands and crushed in hugs for the next three days. Logically, I understand it's supposed to be a very extremely huge deal to have fulfilled the very mission for which the gods bestowed me with the Dragonborn gift in the first place, but my mind is fully occupied with the important things I still have to do.
Ertzebet is flattered beyond words to be the first person in town to be given this wondrous news. Her awe for the mythology and godly governance obviously exceeds mine. She promises to humor me and not spill the beans prematurely, hard as it may be.
When I mention the Elder Scroll I read on top of Mount Nexus, Ertzebet says that now that I no longer have a use for it, the proper place for keeping it is in the College library. I should bring it to Urag. Indeed, that's a good idea. But I can no longer hold back the question I've been itching to ask ever since I woke up this morning: how's it going between Ertzebet and Alec, or possibly Drevis? Has she at least found out if Alec has a girlfriend?
Ertzebet says she found out he didn't – he's merely very popular with women. He has slept with several in the past, but none of the girls have been able to keep him. It would seem he can't have sex very often, but Ertzebet doesn't mind. She thinks it's a good thing she won't have to worry about him being unfaithful.
So is she going steady with Alec now, I ask impatiently.
Yes, she is, but it's more like a cover. Ertzebet feels that when it's commonly known that she has a relationship with Alec, she'll be less conspicuous when she keeps finding excuses to hang around Drevis.
Have I already shown you what Drevis looks like? I think I have, but this is to remind you. The picture is from earlier today.
What she says makes sense. But what about that frequency thing? Has he difficulties getting it up or is he not even interested in sex?
Ertzebet tells me he can get up all right, but he's having difficulties reaching an orgasm. During the little more than two weeks they've been together, Alec has ejaculated only twice. Ertzebet was greatly puzzled when they went to bed and he had an erection, yet didn't seem interested in lovemaking at all. Turned out Alec can keep an intercourse going for very long, so that Ertzebet always has several orgasms, but most nights Alec just can't come. When Ertzebet realized that, she decided to settle for cuddling unless Alec himself insisted on making love. I can understand that. I'd too feel really bad getting orgasms when my lover can't.
I ask if he licks her down there on those nights he doesn't feel up to anything more. Ertzebet says no. She finds it too embarrassing to suggest it. She wouldn't object if he wanted to do it – in absolute darkness. But she could never talk about something like that with a man.
I wonder if Alec's reluctance to have sex is what's been keeping women intrigued about him. If he, unlike virtually all other men, has been hard to get, the women must have been dying to find out why. Yet no one ever found out, because he agreed to sex only very rarely, and never entered a steady relationship before Ertzebet (who firstly is just too drop-dead-gorgeous to reject, and secondly doesn't insist on frequent sex).
Ertzebet believes that's precisely the reason.
So has she now ruined his mystery by telling other female students about his unfortunate shortcoming?
Ertzebet says she hasn't, not really so much to spare his reputation, but because she herself feels it embarrassing to admit that she is satisfied with a man who can have sex only once a week or even less. I'm the first one she's told about it. She kind of feels she can trust me with anything. It makes little sense to hide anything from me after what she and I have done together. To all the other girls, she only tells how gentle Alec is, and how intelligent.
Yes, that makes sense to me. But I'd better go to Urag now and ask if he would like to have an Elder Scroll.
Urag thinks at first I'm pulling his leg, but then he stares with his mouth wide open when I actually put an Elder Scroll onto his desk.
Um... no. I assure you that's not a good idea. Better he remain in his ice cave breaking his teeth on that unopenable Dwemer thing.
Urag rewards me with 2000 septims which, considering his past, er, parsimoniousness, is really a huge amount of money.
I'm about to walk out of the library when Ertzebet gives me a sign to look towards Urag's desk one more time. Nirya is there, the High Elf who hates Faralda, remember? I step closer inconspicuously and overhear her asking Urag if Faralda has borrowed any books recently and possibly been interested in something forbidden.
Urag calmly suggests Nirya just focus on her own studies, and she leaves disappointedly. Ertzebet and I exchange grins and I leave to find my followers. I ask them if they have anything unfinished here. If Jenassa does, she's not showing it, although Nelacar gave me a very grim look a minute ago when I came to fetch her. But then again, he always looks at me with hostility and he's a complete jerk anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Me and my followers go outside, hold hands and I cast the spell to travel to Summerset – the familiar routine.
The world disappears for a moment and then we're in the hall of the Mages' Guild. We say hello to Quillinda and I hurry to cordially greet my darling Dulizar. Together we admire the show of light in various colors as a number of students are practising their spells in the large courtyard.
From the farther end approaches Master Bolwing who is taking the dog-king Celamir to a walk. His Majesty seems to have made himself throughly at home here.
My followers point out that there are quiet corners in that large courtyard. Yeah, I know they're dying to get to know about my recent adventure with Yrsarald. (Of course they knew beforehand what had been expecting me.)
So I tell them in precise detail how Yrsarald dominated me. The unreal excitement of standing naked in front of him, turning and walking and saying things at his command, obedient like a dog, completely stripped of my own will. I know I was mildly defiant to him in my choice of words, but I was still filled with eagerness to do anything to earn his approval – not out of fear of punishment, but because of my urge to make him pleased with me, to enjoy the feeling I was able to understand him correctly and to do everything exactly the way he wanted me to.
"I wish I had a man like that," Lydia says longingly.
I don't comment on that. I already know Bjarne is not dominant in that way. He is good to Lydia and he tells her clearly what he thinks and what he wants, and he always has some good advice when Lydia has a problem, but he's a soldier who obeys orders, not the kind of man who makes others obey.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure I have him yet," I say instead.
"When do you think you will know?" asks Jenassa.
"I'm going to have a serious talk with Yrsarald the next time we meet," I say decisively. "About communication and commitment."
I realize I just said "commitment" and add hastily: "And before you say something sarcastic – if Yrsarald told me I may not have sex with anyone else, not even when I haven't had any for three months, I would obey. But he hasn't said it, and until I'm not absolutely sure he considers me his, I won't act as if I were."
The girls look like they're about to start a lengthy discussion about fidelity, so I cut them short because I have other plans. I want to get a new hairstyle. We approach Quillinda and Dulizar whom I ask to step outside for a moment (or maybe several) and help us choose. I'm completely fed up with my current look.
My followers are still the ones who end up doing most of the advising, but that's all right. At least as long as Quillinda and Dulizar aren't making any weird faces, I can be reasonably sure my hairstyle won't look ridiculous to the general public on this island. This is the one we end up choosing:
It's similar to one I had in the past and I think it looks nice.
The amulet is not part of the hairstyle.
The amulet is not part of the hairstyle.
I don't want any sex so soon after last night, so I tell Dulizar I'm awfully sorry I have no time to be with him. (It's not a lie! I am awfully sorry.)
Now, we have important business in Sunhold and less important in Lillandril.
We could go westwards from here, in the direction of Ebon, get the amulet Quillinda wanted from that Gemstone Cave... ring, sorry... and then turn south. (See the map below.)
I feel, hovewer, that I really want to visit Dusk one more time. We can go to Sunhold from there, along the road this time, and from Sunhold we can go north to Gemstone Cave and proceed to Lillandril.
That's what we are going to do. First a little shopping in the nearby Shimmerene village, and then we'll travel southwards along the coast.
Speaking of Lillandril, there's something I'm planning on doing there. Do you remember I told you about the brothel ship, among whose workers was a man? I've been thinking of doing it in the cowgirl position, with him on top and me penetrating him with a strapon. That's otherwise too horrible a thing to do to a man, but he's a prostitute and gets paid, so it shouldn't be a problem.
But that's in the future. Currently we are southeast of Shimmerene which is almost at the other end of Summerset. We have crossed the river and are now running along the coastal road that is partly overgrown with grass. It's so incredibly warm here, yet not tiringly hot. We are amused to see that after we've killed those zombies around Silverwood, the place seems to have been taken over by hares. I've never seen so many of them in one place.
Hard to get a good picture of them. They won't stand still. :-)
Everything is peaceful along the road, except that spriggan place. I can notice someone getting hostile, but we just run past quickly. Soon we're on the long bridge that leads up to the fortress of Dusk. I am not expecting new bandits here so soon, but I still slow down just in case. And then we see a group of bandits on the plateau where the bridge ends. After we've killed them, we proceed towards the entrance without meeting anyone. We ascend the winding walkway and enter the fortress through that large gate. A mage attacks us, after which we explore all those apartments that are built into the thick walls. In several of them, we encounter bandits or ghosts. In others, we meet our old acquaintances or new peaceful inhabitants. Among those is an elven man called Bradwin to whom I immediately feel attracted. There's something disarmingly friendly about him, and something else I can't put my finger on but am curious to find out more about.
Right now, however, I'm leaving him, because I want to continue exploring the apartments, or dwellings as they're called here. Later when it's already getting dark, we sit a while at the inn.
I must say Dusk is a very cozy place when no one is attacking you.
Then I return to Bradwin. He's rather small down there, but I don't mind. Not everyone has to be an Yrsarald. And he's still very capable.
next awakening
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